I Dream of Monsters
by Blood of the Wolf
Summary: A family is terrorized by spirits. The SPR is there to help! Mai is having terrible dreams, and it's not a good time for love! Naru&Mai are heating up, but this time ghosts aren't the only things after Mai! boy trouble? It's not what you expect! Don't die
1. Demonic Clocks and Harassment

**NEW** I HAVE EDITTED AND IMPROVED SPELLING ERRORS**

Hey everyone!

Blood here with my first ever Ghost Hunt ficcie! YAY!

Now before you read remember, I LOVE REVIEWS! And if you review me, you'll get a present! Fun huh? See? Reviewing can be fun for you too!

Disclaimer: Get over it, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! tear

Warnings: Some language and sexual references

Pairings: Numerous, but it will end up **mai**/**naru** no worries!

sorry for any bad spelling or incorrect grammer. ENJOY!

w/ Naru-chan)

Tick-tock...tick-tock.

_'I wish someone would destroy that damn clock.'_ 17 year old Kazuya Shibuya was actually considering committing suicide, he was that bored. His sanity was down to a frayed remnant of its former self. The demon clock wasn't but half of the problem, after a while the continuous tapping of Lin's computer grated on a person's nerves. It had been a slow a boring week at the SPR, no interesting cases had cropped up in a LONG time.

In fact, the young director was ready to accept the first case that walked through that door, no matter how trivial it seemed. To make matters worse, Naru was thirsty, normally a condition easily remedied by calling for his part-time worker Taniyama Mai and ordering her to bring him a cup of tea. Now however, they were out of tea and Mai had agreed to stop by the store after school on her way to the office.

The store was not that far out of her way and she was now inexplicably late. The file in Naru's hands became invisible as he focused instead on his thoughts. As loath as our favorite narcissist was to admit it, he had grown attached to the girl. He was drawn to her sunny disposition and ready smile. He couldn't keep himself from thinking about her constantly, and he couldn't figure out why.

She wasn't beautiful, more cute than pretty. Her penchant for trouble had gotten him and others hurt. She also plowed ahead in delicate situations with a fiery and reckless passion. She was clumsy and not especially bright. She was emotional and managed to get on his nerves at every turn. She was also the most incredible woman he had ever met.

She had thought he hadn't been listening when she recounted her family history to the others, and he had been impressed by her strength of mind. She didn't connect the dots when shortly after that assignment he gave her a raise. He had been proud when Lin told him what she had said about Lin's hatred for the Japanese. And he'd been amazed at the urge he felt to protect her.

Naru knew he could never act on these emotions, he much doubted she even realized what she did to him. She never saw how he would pointedly not look her in the eyes, fearful of drowning in their depths. She didn't notice how his gaze lingered on her soft lips nor how he made sure that their skin would touch when he took the tea from her hands. This was all he would allow himself to do, watch her and ignore the fantasies that would play in his head when he slept.

Tick-tock...

Oh, how he hated that clock.

(w/ Mai)

This was not Mai's day, nor in fact her month. First her landlady had been forced to raise her rent due to new zoning, whatever that meant. Now the rent was due and she had to ask Naru for her paycheck a week early, again. Last time was due to late bills she had missed while on assignment, and he, of course, had made her reveal this information before agreeing to pay her. However, he did warn her not to make a habit of it, at the same time throwing in one of his usual insults.

She knew he would make her feel misreable for her uselessness again today, and it was wearing thin. Lately he had become harsher and more callous towards her and she didn't understand why. She had been coming to work tired and worn and he, as usual, picked up on this. She had, understandably, with held the reasons for her exhaustion.

Mai had resorted to getting a second job, the nightshift at a local convenience store to help save up money for college. She didn't like school, she never really has, but she knows that her current job won't see her through the rest of her life and all of the high paying jobs you have to go to school for. She had to prepare for the future when she would be jobless and on her own.

She had found a new family in her coworkers, it's true, but she could never impose on them for money or shelter and she knew that Bou-san and John, even Ayako, wouldn't even pause before giving her what she needed. Masako on the other hand would probably lock her out in the cold. True, the two girls got along SOMETIMES, but that didn't mean they were close. It didn't help that they fought for the attention of one certain narcissist.

Naru, her boss. He was a vain, quiet, cold, and belligerent genius. She couldn't help but defend his actions whenever Bou-san made comments about him. He made her feel miserable and always won their verbal battles, but she couldn't find it in her to hate him. O contraire, she had a crush on the teen. Yep, she was in love with her boss. Despite everything about him that made she couldn't stand, she had to say it, she was in love with Kazuya Shibuya.

Mai sighed and looked down at her watch, a gift from Bou-san, she was supposed to be at the office an hour ago. She looked down at the shopping bag in her hand, why did Naru HAVE to have HIS kind of tea? The store by the school was completely out of it and the next closest store was halfway across town. To make matters worse, sidewalk construction had meant that she had to take a detour to get there. Naru was going to be really upset with her.

_'Time to book it!'_ She was running now as she turned the corner onto the street by the office. Mai was so intent on her goal that she was oblivious to the world around her. She accidently bumped into a short man in a green jacket, never stopping she turned her head and yelled an apology, "Gomen!"

She didn't see the large blonde man step into her path until she collided with a solid chest. "G-gomen-nasai!" She tried to sidestep the man when a meaty hand shot out, grabbing her arm in a steel-like grip. "Huh?"

"Now there little Missy, what's a pretty thing like you up to in such a hurry? My friend here's feelings are hurt that you crashed into him. So how are you going to make it up to him?" Beady black eyes ran up her body appraisingly, Mai could see his grasping mind taking her clothes off in his thoughts. Fear bubbled in her breast as his short friend drew closer, looking eager.

When Beady slipped a hand to her waist she gasped, when it slipped lower she reacted. Her hand lifted and a smack was heard. Mai didn't spend time to see how the man took her actions, she just broke away from his slack grip and started to run. She only had a few seconds of a head start, but she was thankful for that. It didn't take long for the pair to break from their surprise induced stupor, and she soon heard the footfalls become louder as they caught up.

"You'll die for that you Bitch!" She believed them, and knew that her life would end momentarily. "N-Naru." A tear slipped down her cheek as she could feel the heat from the men's breaths. She knew they were reaching out for her, to grab her and punish her. A stray stone sent her sprawling.

"MAI!"

She could see Naru running towards her, fear and fury danced in his eyes, darkening his features. Pain exploded on her cheek as she jolted upright and into darkness.


	2. Squishy Love and Sleepy

****NOW EDITTED**

Yo everyone, sry anout the long time b/w updates, I know that I promised to update soon, but with the end of the school year coming up I've had a lot of work to do and I have been getting ready for exams next week! So SORRY!

As for a disclaimer...do I really need it? alright...I OWN NOTHING! Hear me lawyers? I said NOTHING, N-O-T-H-I-N-G! NO suing the author PLZ!

Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers, ya'll are the best! This is for you!

(w/Lin yay)

_SQEEK, SQUEAK, SQUEEK..._

Lin sighed in utter boredom, he could hear the squeaking of Naru's chair and decided that he would burn the accursed object before it drove him mad. He paused from his continuous typing to rub his temples in a failed attempt to combat the incoming headache. He really wanted some tea, but Taniyama-san wasn't in yet.

Annoyed, he glanced up at the clock on the wall through the veil of his hair. Hmmm, she was really would yell at her again, she would sulk again, and the tea would be cold before she remembered that Lin had nothing to do with Naru's behavior. This was work. Lin smirked, he had one hell of a job, babysitting the two lovesick children.

The Chinese man grinned in amusement, this was what happened when you leave a man to himself for hours on end, he starts to make jibes about the people around him. He resumed his typing unconsciously. Naru could be so foolish sometimes. He didn't seem to quite grasp what it was he felt for the young girl who worked for him. Lin actually found it highly entertaining.

Things had changed since Mai joined SPR, even Naru had to admit that the office seemed brighter. Of course, the yellow pillows helped. She had put yellow pillows on the couch and had actually tried to put them on his chair before he put a stop to it. No one touches his chair.

Absent-mindedly Lin ran his fingers lovingly on the leather armrest of his favorite chair. It was the perfect amount of squishy to keep his bottom from getting uncomfortable after hours of typing. _Oh Squishy, I love you._

Lin shook his head, this was the problem when you were left alone for a long time, you thought random thoughts...oh well, it's inevitable. He swiveled (hell, I can't spell that) his chair to look out the window, searching the streets for their wayward employee. If anyone had looked in at the scene they would have seen a tall Chinese man looking rather sternly out the window, but if they looked harder they would have seen the softening around his eyes.

Lin had found the object of his thoughts. He could see young Mai running along the sidewalk at a breakneck pace. Amused at her obvious panic, he continued to watch her approach. She bumped into a man and stopped. Lin became concerned when she didn't turn around, she just froze. The man she ran into put a hand on her shoulder and her face seemed to drain of blood.

Lin frowned. He sent his Shiki out and received just the glimmer of their answering warning before Mai collapsed. He shot to his feet, his squishy chair crashing to the ground. "NARU!"

(w/ Naru)

Naru didn't know what to expect when Lin yelled his name, but having the Chinese man literally drag him out of the office in a blind frenzy was not it. Then again, neither did he expect the sight of his young part-timer passed out in the center of a mob of people on the sidewalk. At this point he pulled himself out of Lin's grip and pushed through the crowd to the girl's side. An older man was crouched down next to her, his fingers at the hollow of her throat, checking her pulse.

"What happened here?" Lin's every steady voice cut through the muttering of the gathering like a knife.

A fat man from the fruit stand answered, "Noth'n, th' gahl jus collapsed thar, bu' she seemed ta be in a 'urry to someplace."

Naru ground his teeth together in annoyance, that told him nothing. Meanwhile, Lin bent down as if to pick Mai up, but Naru frowned and waved the man away before snatching her up himself.

Lin nodded, bemused, but Naru missed the look in his eyes as he was already walking away. (Here I use the word walking, but it was really on the verge of running)

Lin turned to catch up, but was stopped by an old woman with thick glasses and wispy grey hair, "Young man, that lady dropped this."

She handed the Chinese man a white grocery bag that he took before turning to follow his young boss. Naru was already half way down the street and moving so fast that he'd reached the door far before Lin had a chance to reach him.

Naru glared at the door that blocked his path, but he couldn't open it without dropping the unconscious girl, and while the more wicked part of his mind contemplated doing just that to see if it woke her, the more sensible side won out. He had to content himself with sending a look of vexation over his shoulder to 'encourage' Lin to hurry up.

Part of Naru noticed to amused smirk that his associate sent him, but he pointedly ignored it in favor of being the better man and rushing through the newly opened door with his precious burden. He paused only to brush away the vibrant yellow pillows before laying Mai down on the couch. At that point he stepped back and let Lin take over.

He watched as Lin took her vitals and felt an uneasy fluttering in his chest as a frown of concern crossed normally passive features. For lack of anything better to do, Naru paced, back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth again.

(w/Lin)

Lin was concerned. He checked Mai's pulse, noting that it was weak and thready. He frowned when a thin sheen of sweat was seen on her overly pale cheeks. Her hand was clammy to the touch and her temperature seemed to be dropping by the second. When she started to shiver he began to curse the lack of a blanket. He turned away from her to search for a makeshift cover to warm her when black cloth was shoved into his grasping fingers.

Naru had seen the dilemma and had recognized the need for warm the so he had sacrificed his own trademark black jacket. No sooner had Lin covered the trembling girl in the black material still warm from Naru's body heat, than Mai began to whimper and beads of sweat broke out on her body. Both men were alarmed when the drops froze on her skin and her lips began to turn blue.

"Naru," Lin's voice was urgent, "we have to wake her up, now!"

(w/ Naru)

Wake her up? How the hell was he supposed to do that? For once, Naru was at a complete loss of what to do, "Mai!" Naru settled for the old tactic of yelling and shaking.

His hand settled on her shoulder as he tried to jostle the young woman to awareness. "Mai! Mai!" His voice grew in volume and his shakes became harder, "MAI!"

She shook violently in his grip and her lips parted slightly. The whisper of a name seeped out, "n...na...naru..." Tears froze on her cheeks. Naru, in a moment born of sheer desperation, slapped her forcefully across the face.

Her brown eyes shot open and she bolted upright. She held Naru prisoner in her gaze for the breath of time it took for him to realize that their faces were nearly touching, and that her full lips were mere inches away from his own before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she went limp in his arms. If Naru was a lesser man he would have been blushing, also if he were a lesser man the sight of her tantalizing lips would have been far too tempting.

Fortunately (or rather unfortunately in this humble author's taste) he was not a lesser man. Lin helped him lower Mai back down on the couch before checking her pulse again. Only when Lin reassured him that her vitals were returning to normal did Naru rise from his position. His back cracked as he straightened his spine prior to heading to his office door.

If Lin noticed that Naru left the door open and had moved his chair to within sight of the couch, he didn't mention it. Which, Naru noted, was most likely a good thing seeing as if he did he would probably find himself at the other end of Naru's wrath.

That is not to say that Lin didn't look amused, oh no, rather he looked quite entertained almost to the point that he couldn't contain a grin at his young boss' expense.

"Lin, tea."

All good humor disappeared from the man's face. The slam of the kitchen door was evident to his displeasure, but Naru just smirked, his eyes looking over a file to the couch and it's slumbering charge.

Mai would have a lot of questions to answer when she woke, but for now, Naru was contented to sit and watch over her, because even if she didn't know it, that's exactly what he planned to do for as long as he could. He planned to watch over her, even if she never knew it, he would always protect his angel.

Woohoo! There ya go! Chappie 2 is done! I hope you all liked it, it was hard to write and revise!

Now warning you, for the next couple of weeks it may be difficult for me to update what with the beginning of Summer Break and all, but rest assured I will not stop this story, it's too fun to write!

Leave me reviews and I will grow stronger and better!

Luv ya,

Blood


	3. Purple Fairies and Workload

****NOW EDITTED!**

Hey everybody! I know you are all gonna kill me! I said I would post this soon but what with school ending and summer jobs and various other occurrences, I've had zero time to type this up and update!

Sorry! Don't kill me!

dodges knives and other kitchen utensils thrown at me

Oh, so that is where the meat cleaver was...

Disclaimer: Hey! Lawyer slave! Handle this please!

Lawyer Slave Blood owns nothing, not even her soul, that she sold to the plot bunny devil to get story ideas, so if you sue, you get nothing.

Yep! Nada, zilch, nonpatooty!

And one thing, in a review I got someone mentioned Lin's sheepskin pillow for his chair, I know that is in the manga, but I chose not to use it. I might in the future (after I finish this story of course) write my version of why he doesn't have his lovely cushion anymore, but basically it is gone thanks to an angry firey ghost lady, a Naru who hasn't had his tea yet, and a confused Mai with a bucket of lighter fluid. Just puzzle that over in your mind!

But meanwhile! read the chappie!

w/Mai

_Bing! Bing! Bing!_

Purple fairies danced across Mai's vision, bumping into invisible walls with an obnoxious frequency.

_Bing! Bing! Bing!_

Somehow Mai got hold of a machine gun. She began to methodically exterminate the tiny shiny pests. Then one of them made it past her defenses and…..

Mai awoke to the sounds of an angel…Or rather the sounds of an angel on crack who was stung by a bee and tazered. A.K.A. her lovely boss was shouting again. It sounded odd to hear him yell at anyone other than herself and she chose to enjoy the experience of not being the object of his frustrations. "Lin! This tea is terrible! It has no taste at all!"

The Chinese man's answer was too soft for her to understand, but she could tell he was aggravated. _They're like an old married couple!_ This thought instantly sparked an image of Lin-san in a pink apron with his hands propped on his hips. This could only be accompanied with the imagery of Naru as the disgruntled husband scowling up at his 'wife'.

Mai tried to open her eyes unsuccessfully. _What happened?_ She finally forced her tired lids to open and wished she hadn't as she was assaulted by painful light. Her head pounded in agony as though a tiny person was inside her head with a pogo stick. Her mind instantly conjured up the image of a miniature Naru on said pogo stick hopping around like a deranged monkey. She moaned softly and put a pale hand to her aching cheek. She felt a bruise forming and couldn't remember how she could have gotten it. Earlier events came rushing back to her and bolted upright. Nausea swamped her senses and she collapsed back on the cushions with a cry.

Her eyes roamed around inquisitively, where the hell was she? The room appeared blurry and she blinked rapidly to get it in focus. Now she could see that she lay in the office of the SPR. _How did I get here?_ She shivered from a sudden draft and wrapped the black blanket that had slipped down around her shoulders as she once again tried to sit upright, this time slower and with more care. She looked over at the door to Lin's office to see it wide open and Lin nowhere to be seen. Confused she turned towards Naru's door to see it cracked open, she could see the tall form of her boss and his associate; they appeared to be in an argument.

Mai would have giggled at the sight of the two normally composed men acting so childishly, except that it hurt far too much to even consider the action. She swung her legs around off of the lumpy couch and tested putting a little weight on them prior to attempting to stand. _Okay, one…two…three…up!_ "Mai!"

_Oops._ Startled, she tripped and began to fall, only to land in the arms of a certain person whom just so happened to be the one who made her face flush and her heart go all fluttery. (cough Naru cough cough) Said narcissist was clearly unhappy with his young part-timer as he grabbed her arms rather forcefully and made her sit back down.

w/Narrator

"Taniyama-san! You're awake!" Lin looked surprised.

Naru on the other hand just growled at her, "What do you think you are doing?"

"Nice to see you too Naru-chan", Mai muttered to herself before scowling at him, "What does it look like? I'm getting up."

"No you're not."

"Naru!"

Naru didn't waste time or breathe to reply, he just settled a heavy duty glare on the girl. Meanwhile the aforementioned girl was gathering her energy to get up again. This time when she stood up she remained up, though it was a struggle. She wouldn't admit it, especially not to Naru, but she was still tired despite being vertical. She couldn't fool either of the men.

"Taniyama-san, perhaps you should sit back down," Lin politely encouraged the girl. Naru on the other hand has no appreciation for diplomatic mannerisms, "Mai, sit your ass down before you fall on your face." His face showed little sympathy.

Mai gave him a defiant stare before reluctantly sitting back down. She cursed as her treacherous body melted into the couch with relief. "What happened? How the hell did I get here? What happened to my face?"

Naru opened his mouth to give mocking answers only to be silenced by a pointed glare, courtesy of a certain Chinese man. Lin chose to reply to her questions rather than let the glowering teen next to him answer with the sarcasm and rudeness that usually accompanied all of his talks with the young assistant. "You passed out and have been unconscious for three hours."

Mai noticed that he failed to answer her other questions, but was too tired to further pursue the topic. She just wanted to go home and get some sleep. Naru had other plans, "What happened?"

"Huh?"

Naru rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, needing it to keep from biting her head off. He didn't take the time to wonder why it was that she was the only person who could get a rise out of him so quickly. "Did you have a dream? Did you feel sick? Did a monkey bite your hands off?" (I just had to add that last one sorry)

Mai was saved at that moment from answering by a knock at the door. In fact, she was saved by several knocks on the door. She pushed off of the couch to answer the door by habit, not really thinking about it.

"Sit!" Naru barked at her, his expression leaving little room for argument.

She satisfied herself with the childish act of sticking her tongue out at the narcissistic workaholic bossy maniac, before complying with the command. Lin went to the door as the knocks became more frequent and opened it to reveal an older man with graying hair and an attractive teenage boy who looked a year older than Mai. The older man seemed to be disheveled and clearly distraught.

"Is this the office of Shibuya Psychic Research?"

Instantly Naru became all professional, all traces of the mockingly immature (and very attractive) Naru that bickered with his young assistant disappeared, leaving the composed and responsible paranormal investigator in its place. "Yes this is."

The man immediately appeared to relax, "Oh thank goodness! Are you the president?" This he directed to Lin who promptly shook his head. It took a few moments to convince the man that Naru was in fact in charge. This of course was typical for potential clients who never expected such a young person to be in such a position of power. Despite being put off by this revelation, the man began to speak, or rather, plead. "Please, I need your help! My estate is haunted!"

Naru merely held up his hand, cutting off the man before he could explain further, "I'm sorry sir, but we are accepting no more cases at the moment, our workload is backed up far too much."

The man's face dissolved into a look of a man whose last hope has just been taken by a giant and smashed into the dirt then spat on. He fell to his knees, tears in his eyes, "Please! At least hear us out! My wife is missing and two of our servants have been killed! No one else would take the case! They all turned us down saying they had better things to do! So, please! I am begging you!"

Even Naru seemed taken aback by the tears of a grown man. His eyes widened briefly but swiftly returned to normal as he regarded the man with a look of vague annoyance. "How do you know this is a paranormal event and not a human one?"

The teenage boy answered, "My little sister saw my stepmother taken, she dissolved into the wall apparently. And there were writings on the wall; the words were spelled out in blood."

Mai gasped, her eyes filled with concern. Naru lifted one hand to rub his temple, he was developing a headache. "We'll need to talk with your sister before we can decide to take on the case."

Father and son exchanged looks, never a good sign. The father spoke hesitantly, pain in his voice, "You can try, but it won't do you much good, she hasn't spoken since the incident. Last time she spoke she pointed at the wall and said, 'They took Mommy away' She won't speak a word now."

Naru frowned and Mai wondered what was going on in his head. After an apparently difficult inner battle, Naru seemed to come to a decision and sighed, "This situation seems to be far too serious to let it progress any further…all right, we'll take your case."

I promise that I'll do my best to update ASAP this time! Just don't kill me or you'll never hear how this story ends! And review please! I'm feeling lonely without my wonderful reviews to warm my heart! And flames will be used to burn Lin's squishy!

Toodles!


	4. Painful Shelving and Sweet Dreams

**~*~*~*~NOW EDITTED!~*~*~*~**

Hey there everyone! I know I know! I said I would update like forever ago! I am so sorry! My only excuse I guess is that I had lost my rough draft of this and I was too lazy to rewrite it. The good news is that I found it and I have spent the last two days typing it up! And get this! It is longer than the other chapters by like a lot! Isn't that awesome?

Anyway, As usual my lawyers could tell you that I am not the owner of Ghost Hunt soooooooo, plz don't sue!

I hope you enjoy! And don't forget when you're done to give me a little review, show your appreciation!

**(w-Lin)**

Damn…..damn…damn…..ouch!

Lin stuck his bleeding finger in his mouth. The timing couldn't have been worse. Lin groaned as he hooked the monitors up to the system, careful not to catch his fingers on the sharp edges again. The client, Tsubayan Hinchura, had introduced the team to his family and the little mute girl, Suzuran, had taken to Mai immediately, as children often do.

Lin couldn't keep from a slight smile as he thought of the gift Mai seemed to have with children. He remembered back to when they had the case around Christmas with the church. The sight of Mai being mobbed by the kids would have been highly amusing if only Lin didn't have an immense dislike for the little snot-nosed brats.

As far as he could tell, all children did was whine, eat, and execrate. (That means poop) The tall Chinese man was just fine with leaving any person under the age of fifteen, no, make that twenty, to other members of the team.

**(Back at Time of Arrival)**

"Thank you for coming so quickly Shibuya-san! Please let me present to you my family." The man led the team up a gravel path to a very lovely traditional style house. "I don't think you were introduced properly to my son before. This is Kuran."

The teenage boy from the other day stood in front of the porch, holding the hand of a small brown haired girl. She was dressed in a simple blue dress and her hair was done up in long pigtails. She pressed against her brother's leg, shyly avoiding the eyes of the team, staring at the ground instead.

"This is Suzuran-chan"

Naru nodded and turned to introduce each of his companions. He started with the Miko and made his way down, ending of course, with his little part-timer, "This is my assistant Taniyama Mai."

Mai walked over to Kuran and his shy shadow and knelt down so that she was at Suzuran's level, "Hello Suzuran-cha-" She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before Suzuran let go of her brother and launched herself at Mai, wrapping her little arms around her neck, holding her tightly. Startled, Mai rocked back on her heels to compensate for the sudden weight added to her neck.

The child's father and brother stared, agape. Suzuran released Mai and looked up at her, smiling. She then promptly took Mai's hand and pulled at it, trying to get her to follow the child into the house. Mai looked back at Naru helplessly, pleading for permission. Her pout turned to a grin as Naru nodded his consent. The teen and child took off running into the house. Lin noticed to alarmed expression on Hinchura's face, "Is something the matter Hinchura-san?" "Wha-oh! No, it's only that, well, Suzuran has never taken to a stranger like that, even before her mother went missing." Bou-san smiled and clapped the older man on the back, " That is just our little Mai's way with people! Don't worry!" Naru looked after the route that his part-timer had been dragged down, a dark emotion playing behind his eyes.

**(Present)**

Lin knew precisely why Naru had been so reluctant to take this case, they still had no idea what had prompted Mai's blackout and didn't know if it could happen again. And what on earth did that dream mean?

**(When Mai Woke Up)**

"Mai, tell me everything that you saw," Naru was still in 'client mode' as Mai would call it, and he was trying to figure out what had happened to his young assistant.

"Honestly I don't know. It felt too real to be a dream, even one of my psychic ones. I thought I was going to die." The look on her face tugged at Lin's heart, she was so scared and confused. Naru on the other hand was clearly annoyed.

_That idiot should tell her that he is angry with the circumstances, not her._ Lin could see that Naru's attitude was wearing thin on Mai's emotions. _Careful Naru._ Naru was drumming his fingers impatiently on the table, "You are not answering my questions, I did not ask what little you know, I asked what you saw."

Lin winced, _Way to go idiot scientist! You handled that with your usual tact and grace._ The Chinese man cringed at the idea of her response. He was just waiting for her to snap, to start yelling at her boss in typical Mai fashion. It was alarming then, when she acted in atypical Mai fashion and remained silent, lowering her head so that her short hair blocked her eyes from sight.

Lin looked sharply at Naru in a mix of surprise and warning, but found that the teen was not looking his way, focusing instead on the cowed girl on the sofa in front of him. Lin turned his gaze back on Mai as she gathered her thoughts and began to recount her experiences of the afternoon, beginning with her trip to the store.

By the end of her tale Naru was up and pacing, Lin whole-heartedly understood the urge, he had never before heard of such a thing happening. Then again, Mai's powers were odd in their own right and it was entirely possible that they could still be developing in unique ways. After a few tense minutes of awkward silence Naru finally spoke up, "Go home, get some sleep. Lin will drive you."

"I will?" This was news to Lin, but he was getting up and grabbing his coat. Mai on the other hand would have no part of it, "I can get home myself!" Naru rolled his eyes at her, "Right, and what's to say that you won't pass out again? You _might_ actually prove useful on this case for once." Lin cringed; sometimes it really would be nice for that boy to show some discretion and tact. Mai looked flustered, "B-but I have to go to work!"

Lin's fingers froze on his car keys and Naru ceased his pacing, his back rigid. You could hear a pin drop in the following silence before Naru ended it with a frosty tone, "Work?" Mai squirmed nervously under Naru's glare, "Yes work, I take the night shift at the local convenience store."

"Why?" Mai seemed to gain strength from Naru's poor attitude and she glared at the boy. "People do that, you know? We take jobs, earn money. Things really haven't changed that much since you looked yourself away in this bat cave."

Naru's eyes flashed, "You already have a job."

"Yeah, and working part time exorcising ghosts, ghoulies, and things that go bump in the night is really going to pay the bills and pay for college!"

Lin could see the anger escalating in the room and decided enough was enough, "I'll take Taniyama-san to her home and drop by her job to tell them she's sick." He took a protesting Mai's arm and literally dragged her out the door, shooting a glare at the young boss from over his shoulder.

**(Present)**

Lin had concluded that he had no manner of luck at all. After he had dropped a still angry Mai off at her apartment, he had gone on to her night job. The people at Mai's workplace said that they needed someone to work Mai's shift and so he'd been press-ganged into filling in for her.

He wanted to ram his head through the nearest window before the night was half over. Why were so many stupid people out at such ungodly hours? It made no sense! Lin's shiki had detected a shoplifter, but he, out of spite for the hateful shop manager, had let him escape with his pockets laden with stolen candy.

It had left him in a foul mood, and Naru was acting no better, stomping around like a Neanderthal and scowling at everyone, even meek little John Brown! Lin supposed it was not helping his charge's demeanor that he hadn't seen much of Mai since their arrival. She was too busy keeping the little girl occupied.

Lin cursed as he hit his head on the edge of one of the shelving units.

**(w/Mai)**

Mai was kicking herself, why didn't she tell anyone about her dream? Naru was going to kill her for sure this time! The night after she had passed out, she'd had a dream. It had began like a dream would when she was on a case, but it was different…

_She found herself in a large house, more a mansion really. The grounds were well kept and there was a bubbling fountain at the front door. She felt compelled to open that door and go inside, but when she placed her hand on the doorknob a sense of foreboding shot through her. _

_She tried to leave, but her body acted without her free will. She watched with a feeling of growing horror as the door opened to reveal a large foyer with lit candelabras and crystal chandeliers. There was a central grand stair case and her feet started walking up it. Her heart pounded wildly in her breast as the walls started to warp and drops like blood began to drip from the ceiling. She started to run. _

_When she looked up she saw her salvation, it was Naru, the nice one standing there, waiting for her. His hand was reached out towards her, beckoning for her to come to him. She was nearing the top of the stairs when something struck her as odd. She looked back up at Naru. What was it? Then she knew._

_His eyes. There was something wrong with his eyes. They were not his warm, deep, kind orbs. No, they were cold, dark, inhuman. She watched as his flesh began to melt from his face. His eyes glowed red and his teeth became jagged. His nails lengthened into yellow claws, and his lips turned black. _

_He lifted an emaciated arm. A bone-like finger pointed at her, no, at something behind her. She turned around, and saw, just a few steps away from her a thin child-like face looked up at her and smiled, blood seeping from every orifice. _

Mai had then screamed and woken up.

A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped, startled. "Mai-chan?" "Wha-?" Kuran looked at her with concern. "Are you alright? You kind of spaced out there for a moment."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm fine." She smiled at the young man reassuringly. Suzuran looked up at her worriedly. The three of them were sitting in the little girl's room and had been looking at Suzuran's toys. Mai was at a loss for what to do with the girl because she had apparently lost all interest in playing with dolls when her mother went missing.

That was when Mai had a brilliant idea. (Yes Naru, she does have those every now and then) "Hey, why don't we go and bake some cookies Suzuran-chan? Would you like that?" The child nodded energetically, her pigtails bobbing wildly. Mai took the girl's small hand in her own and allowed herself to be dragged to the kitchen.

When they reached the kitchen Suzuran climbed up onto a chair and took a thick cookbook down from the cupboard. It was old and worn, the cover was stained and much of the old color had been worn away.

"That was my Grandmother's cookbook." Kuran supplied. Mai solemnly took the revered book from the girl and gingerly opened the book. She took note of where flour covered hands had left stains on certain pages, and a certain recipe caught her eye; Chocolate Drop Sun-cookies: _for the days when all you see is rain_. It appeared fairly simple to do, and the house could use a bit of sunshine.

When Mai showed to recipe to Suzuran the girl grinned and clapped her hands happily together. The two of them began to assemble the necessary ingredients and utensils as Kuran smiled and slipped out of the kitchen. He should probably get to his homework, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the sunny-faced girl who was with his sister. What would it take to get her to stay, he wondered. Little did he know, that something else was thinking the _exact same thing._

There! Another CHAPPIE! YAY! I hope you enjoyed it! I mean I really do! I am going to do my best to update sooner this time, but my IB English teacher really believes in loading me up with work! So I might be little time coming, but It won't be this long! I promise!

DON'T FORGET A FRIENDLY LITTLE REVIEW! FLAMES WITH BE USED TO BAKE MY COOKIES!


End file.
